Furniture fastening device



Jan. 25, 1955 1-, 0555 2,700,584

FURNITURE FASTENING DEVICE Filed Nov. 10, 1953 United States PatentFURNITURE FASTENING DEVICE Guy T. Hobbs, Dover, Pa. Application November10, 1953, Serial No. 391,261 Claims. (Cl. 311-110) This inventionrelates to a furniture fastening device and more particularly to afastening device for furniture of the knockdown type.

The advantages of knockdown furniture are well known. Great savings inshipping costs are effected, and, because of the lower labor costsinvolved, the furniture may be marketed at a competitive advantage. Onedisadvantage, however, in known knockdown furniture is that thefastening elements utilized are such that the articles are difiicult toassemble in the absence of considerable skill, and that, once assembled,the constituent elements have a tendency to become loose, even under thestresses incident to normal use.

With the foregoing in mind, a principal object of the invention is toprovide a furniture fastening device for furniture of the knockdown typecapable of securing furniture components in rigid relation in theabsence of the necessity for considerable skill on the part of theassembler, and with a tool of no more complexity than a simple householdhammer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a furniture fastener ofthe stated type wherein furniture components can be readily assembledand can just as easily be disassembled, should that be desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastening device ofthe character described wherein assembly and disassembly can be effectedwithout damage to the constituent elements of the furniture.

The invention resides further in certain structural details hereinafterdescribed and illustrated in the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fastening device made in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical elevational view, on an enlarged scale of thefastener of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, the fastener shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective of one element ofthe fastening device; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in perspective of the other element of thefastening device.

With reference to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, itwill be seen that a fastening device is provided comprising two separateelements, generally indicated by reference numerals and 11, the latterof which including the furniture leg as an integral part thereof.

In accordance sists of a substantially flat clip, is secured to theunderside of a flat furniture member such as a table top or the like bymeans of fastening elements 13 inserted through apertures 14, and thetab portion 15 of which engages an edge portion of the furniture member.Tabs 16, integral with the body portion 12 and coplanar therewith beforeassembly, are provided for a purpose hereinafter described. A taperedsocket for the reception of the tongue 17 of the element 11 is formed byinturning the edges 18 of the clip 10. It will be understood that thisclip is normally secured to the ture member during transit.

partly in section, of

with my invention, the element 10 conthe body 12 of which To assemblethe furniture piece the tongue 17 is inserted in the tapered socket ofthe clip so that the flat wing portions 19 of the member 11 snuglyengage the edge of the furniture member. Fastening elements 22 are theninserted in the apertures 23 and into the furniture member and the tabs16 are struck down into the recesses 24 of the element 11, as shown bestin Figs. 2 and 3. The corners 25 of the tongue, which protrude beyondthe recess 26 in the rear edge of the clip, are then bent upwardly overthe bevelled edges 27 of the recess as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

Should additional rigidity be desired, one of the fastening elements 13can be removed before insertion of the tongue in the socket and insertedthrough an aperture 28in the tongue registering with an aperture 14 ofthe clip. Although the element 11, in this instance, is shown as afurniture leg per se, the bottom of this element being elongated asrequired, I contemplate the use of such an element as a structuralsupport member for a leg of wood or like material, or as one of twocomplementary fastening elements for securing a wide variety offurniture components.

I claim:

1. A fastening device for furniture of the knockdown type, said devicecomprising a clip having a flat body portion with turned opposite edgesforming therebetween a tapered open ended socket and means for securingsaid body portion against a flat surface of a furniture piece at an edgeof the latter and with the relatively wide open end of the socketconfronting said edge, a locking tab projecting from the edge of thebody portion in the plane of the latter and beyond the said open end andadapted for insertion in said socket together with a body portionextending from said tongue at an angle to the plane of the latter, saidtab when the tongue is fully inserted in the socket extending beyond theouter edge of the latter and being adapted for angular displacement fromits normal plane over and against said outer edge to thereby lock thetongue in the socket.

2. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein the tongue when fullyinserted in the socket projects at its inner end beyond the proximateedge of the body portion of the clip, and is provided at said inner endwith an angularly displaceable portion arranged when so displaced tointerlock with the said edge of the clip to further immobilize thecomplementary fastening member in the clip socket.

3. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein said complementarymember is provided with wing portions, one on each side of said tongueand perpendicular thereto, and adapted to engage the said edge of thefurniture piece.

4. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein said clip is providedat one edge thereof with a tab portion extending perpendicular to saidbody portion.

5. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein said tab is receivedin a recess in said complementary member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS772,462 Gruender Oct. 18, 1904 1,567,958 Kositzky Dec. 29, 19251,572,003 Fleming Feb. 9, 1926 2,210,047 Stieglitz Aug. 6, 19402,308,737 Backus Jan. 19, 1943 2,573,305 Bronstein Oct. 30, 19512,584,471 Kohen Feb. 5, 1952

